NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and of advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this study by the Panel on a Global Network of Fiducial Sites was provided by the Air Force Office for Scientific Research, the Defense Mapping Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Geodetic Survey/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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PANEL ON A GLOBAL NETWORK OF FIDUCIAL SITES
J. BERNARD MINSTER,
University of California,
Chairman
BRADFORD H. HAGER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT,
U.S. Geological Survey
ROBERT E. SCHUTZ,
University of Texas
Staff
HYMAN ORLIN, Consultant
JUDITH ESTEP, Administrative Secretary
COMMITTEE ON GEODESY
JOHN RUNDLE,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory *
TIMOTHY H. DIXON,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory *
ANDREW FRANK,
University of Maine
CLYDE GOAD,
Ohio State University *
TOM HERRING,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DAVID MCADOO,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
RICHARD SAILOR,
The Analytic Sciences Corporation
DAVID SANDWELL,
University of California, San Diego
ROSS STEIN,
U.S. Geological Survey *
Staff
HYMAN ORLIN, Consultant
JUDITH ESTEP, Administrative Secretary
Liaison Members
MIRIAM BALTUCK,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
WILLIAM H. CHAPMAN,
U.S. Geological Survey
DONALD H. ECKHARDT,
Air Force Geophysical Laboratory
THOMAS HENNIG,
Defense Mapping Agency
WILLIAM LUTH,
U.S. Department of Energy
MICHAEL A. MAYHEW,
National Science Foundation
JERRY PERRIZO,
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
WILLIAM STRANGE,
National Geodetic Survey, NOAA
† |
Since January 1991. |
* |
Term ended December 1990. |
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
WILLIAM L. FISHER,
University of Texas,
Chairman
SAMUEL S. ADAMS, Minerals Consultant,
Lincoln, New Hampshire
ALBERT W. BALLY,
Rice University
SANDRA L. BLACKSTONE, Attorney/Consultant,
Englewood, Colorado
DONALD J. DEPAOLO,
University of California, Berkeley
GORDON P. EATON,
Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory
W. GARY ERNST,
Stanford University
ROBERT N. GINSBURG,
University of Miami
PERRY HAGENSTEIN,
Resource Issues, Inc.
HARRISON C. JAMISON, Consultant,
Sunriver, Oregon
THOMAS H. JORDAN,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CHARLES J. MANKIN,
Oklahoma Geological Survey
CAREL OTTE, JR.,
Unocal Corporation (retired)
FRANK M. RICHTER,
University of Chicago
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University
IRVIN L. WHITE,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Staff
KEVIN C. BURKE, Staff Director
WILLIAM E. BENSON, Senior Program Officer
THOMAS M. USSELMAN, Senior Program Officer
BRUCE B. HANSHAW, Staff Officer
LORRAINE WOLF, Research Associate
LALLY A. ANDERSON, Staff Assistant
GAYLENE DUMOUCHEL, Administrative Assistant
CHARLENE ANDERSON, Administrative Secretary
JUDITH ESTEP, Administrative Secretary
COMMISSION ON GEOSCIENCES, ENVIRONMENT, AND RESOURCES
M. GORDON WOLMAN,
The Johns Hopkins University,
Chairman
ROBERT C. BEARDSLEY,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
B. CLARK BURCHFIEL,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
RALPH J. CICERONE,
University of California, Irvine
PETER S. EAGLESON,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
HELEN M. INGRAM,
University of Arizona
GENE E. LIKENS,
New York Botanical Garden
SYUKURO MANABE,
NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
JACK E. OLIVER,
Cornell University
PHILIP A. PALMER, E.I.
duPont de Nemours & Company
FRANK L. PARKER,
Vanderbilt University
DUNCAN T. PATTEN,
Arizona State University
MAXINE L. SAVITZ,
Allied Signal Aerospace Company
LARRY L. SMARR,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
STEVEN M. STANLEY,
The Johns Hopkins University
SIR CRISPIN TICKELL,
Green College at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford
KARL K. TUREKIAN,
Yale University
IRVIN L. WHITE,
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
JAMES H. ZUMBERGE,
University of Southern California
Staff
STEPHEN RATTIEN, Executive Director
STEPHEN D. PARKER, Associate Executive Director
JANICE E. MEHLER, Assistant Executive Director
JEANETTE SPOON, Financial Officer
CARLITA PERRY, Administrative Assistant
ROBIN LEWIS, Senior Project Assistant
PREFACE
The Panel on a Global Network of Fiducial Sites was formed by the Committee on Geodesy, National Research Council, with the encouragement of its supporting agencies, to address specific issues, including:
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evaluation of the scientific importance of a proposed global network of fiducial sites, monitored very precisely, using a combination of surface and space-geodetic techniques;
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examination of strategies for implementing and operating such a network, in light of the anticipated scientific return, building on existing capabilities whenever possible; and
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assessment of whether such a network would provide a suitable global infrastructure for geodetic and other geophysical systems of the next century.
The charge to the Panel developed from the rapid growth of space-geodetic systems with a global distribution of stations, including the Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) and Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) network deployed in the 1980s; the French DORIS and the German PRARE systems; and the Global Positioning System (GPS) networks, such as the Cooperative International GPS Network (CIGNET), and the proposed Fiducial Laboratories for an International Natural science Network (FLINN). Thus, various countries and a number of national and international organizations have embarked on the development of global observing programs, with varied life spans and objectives. The scientific implications of such a collection of global networks transcend the objectives of any single organization or even any single country. The potential benefits to be derived from an international, multidisciplinary research effort with a well-defined infrastructure are sufficiently important to warrant global support and participation.
The scientific aim should be the establishment of a globally distributed network of fiducial stations that would include a core of ground-based observatories to study the Earth. The dual scientific goals of such a global geodetic and
geophysical fiducial network would be (1) to improve our understanding of geophysical and geological phenomena that operate on a global scale, and (2) to provide a reference framework and boundary conditions for analyzing the phenomena that operate on smaller scales.
Therefore, the Panel opted to broaden the initial concept and to consider how a mix of space-based geodetic techniques, expanded to include other geophysical techniques, would best contribute to the solution of fundamental geodetic and geophysical problems with a global scope. Such a broad approach is not only desirable but also essential if we are to realize the full potential of global networks for solid Earth research. The scope of the tasks imposes on the scientific community an obligation to consider how a global network of fiducial sites can be built on existing structures.
Coordination of space-geodetic global deployments with ongoing global activities in other disciplines, such as global seismology, geomagnetism, gravimetry, and absolute gravity, offers exciting possibilities for comprehensive studies of the Earth, although compatibility issues remain to be resolved. An initial complement of instruments, modified as needs are identified, should be proposed by the geophysical and geodetic science communities and a determination made as to which instruments should be installed at individual sites.
The Panel met four times during 1990. In 1991 it was recognized that a broader range of expertise was needed to deal with many of the issues raised by this study. Therefore, the Committee on Geodesy joined with the Panel in preparing the final report. The members of the Panel and the Committee represent users of various geodetic techniques and many geophysical sciences such as gravimetry, seismology, geomagnetism, tectonophysics, and oceanography. This combined Panel and Committee represent a cross section of the diverse technical and scientific interests considered in the report. In addition, the Panel especially appreciates the assistance of a number of scientists, particularly, Professor Richard J. O'Connell, Harvard University, for his early discussion on issues relevant to this report; Professor Michael Bevis, North Carolina State University, for his discussions on the issues of sea-, land-, and ice-level changes; and Drs. Oscar Colombo, Werner Gurtner, Ruth Neilan, and Stephen Lichten for their many discussions of various issues raised in this report. A substantial fraction of the material on the International GPS Geodynamics Service proposed to the International Association of Geodesy was prepared by members of this Panel; not surprisingly, this report incorporates much of the same material. The Panel also drew from the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) annual reports and associated publications. However, responsibility for the final document rests exclusively with the Panel and the Committee.